Learnings from conducting the Taster version at the annual conference of the European Creative Hubs Network
This year’s Culture and Creativity Conference, organized by the European Creative Hubs Network, took place in Bologna from 27–29 November 2024. Centered on the theme “People, Planet, Profit,” the event emphasized the balance between social, environmental, and economic priorities, highlighting how creative industries must address environmental challenges while ensuring financial resilience.
I was offered an opportunity to run a "Doughnut Design for Business" workshop at this conference, using the Taster version of the workshop to fit within a 90-minute session.
Participants and format
The workshop was attended by 30 participants - managers of creative business hubs from across Europe, representing diverse sectors of the creative industries. Participants worked in five groups of six to explore the principles and practical applications of Doughnut Economics.
What worked well:
The tool: several participants were already familiar with Doughnut Economics, and many others were thrilled to discover it. They were excited to discover that it’s not just a theoretical framework but also includes actionable tools they could apply in practice.
Pedagogy: following the clear steps of the Taster version worked really well. Participants found the structured approach helpful in breaking down the core concepts, making them easy to understand and apply.
Engagement: participants were highly engaged into the discussions, with every group buzzing with ideas and debates. The energy was so high that it was a challenge to get everyone to pause and move on to the next steps.
ideas buzzing
What could be improved:
Session duration: the Taster version is designed for a 2–3-hour session. A 90-minute format proved too short to fully explore the concepts and provide enough time for group work and reflection. Two hours should be the minimum for future workshops.
Group sharing: participants were enthusiastic about sharing their thoughts, stories, and even emotions with the group. Making more time for open discussions and collective reflection would take the session to the next level.
Prepared business cases: since participants came from various organizations, they spent valuable time at the beginning creating mock-up company profiles to use for group work. In the future, I’ll bring pre-prepared descriptions of fictional companies to allow groups to dive into the exercises immediately.
Reflections and next steps:
Many participants were eager to dive deeper into the Doughnut Economics framework, with some even expressing an interest in running similar workshops in their own creative hubs.
A few raised concerns about whether adopting a Doughnut-based approach might hurt competitiveness, which highlighted the need to better show how these changes can open up new opportunities and strengthen long-term resilience.
To address this, future sessions could:
begin the session with real-world stories showing how businesses have used Doughnut Economics to stay competitive and ready for the future.
focus on the fresh opportunities for innovation and standing out in the market that come with adopting regenerative and better business practices.
members of European Creative Hubs Network in action
